Abhanga 3063
Kāya tīm karāvīm mōlāñcīm mākaḍe — what use are paid-monkeys; nāchata tī puḍhe samsārāñcyā — dancing in-front of samsāra.
The verse
काय तीं करावीं मोलाचीं माकडें । नाचत ती पुढें संसाराच्या ॥१॥
झाडा देतेवेळे विचकिती दांत । घेती यमदूत दंडवरी ॥ध्रु.॥
हात दांत कान हलविती मान । दाखविती जन मानावया ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे किती जालीं हीं फजित । मागें नाहीं नीत भारवाही ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kāya tīm karāvīm mōlāñcīm mākaḍe — what use are paid-monkeys; nāchata tī puḍhe samsārāñcyā — dancing in-front of samsāra. Jhāḍā detevēḷe vichakitī dāmta — at jhāḍā-time, they grin-bare-teeth; ghetī yamadūta damḍavarī — yamadūtas take them bound. Hāta dāmta kāna halavitī māna — they shake hand, tooth, ear, neck; dākhavitī jana mānāvayā — show-people-to-be-honored. Tukā mhaṇe kitī jālīm hīm phajita — Tukā says: how many phajitas have these become; māge nāhī nīta bhāravāhī — no nīti behind — only bhāravāhī.
What it means
A striking 3-verse parable by Tukārām.
The image: Mercenary-monkeys (paid-to-dance) perform-in-public-for-money; they shake-hand-tooth-ear-neck — monkey-tricks-for-honor. But at jhāḍā (accounting-of-life), they grin-teeth (grimace-in-fear) and yamadūtas-take-them-bound. The closing-line: no-nīti behind, only-bhāravāhī (load-bearing, working-for-hire).
The application: fake-bhaktas perform-tricks-of-bhakti for-public-honor (mānāvayā); but-the-substance-is-empty (no-nīti, only-load-bearing). The mercenary aspect (mōlāñcī, paid) is key — bhakti-for-honor-or-money is mercenary-monkey-dance.
The image of jhāḍā-time-grinning-teeth is striking — the moment-of-truth-comes with-fear-grimace, not-with-the-honored-display-of-life.
Compare-the-3061 (fake-pregnancy) and-3057 (fly-image) for-similar-anti-fake-display parables.
For someone today
Tukārām's mercenary-monkey parable. What is the use of paid-monkeys dancing in-front of (the) samsāra? When the time of accounting comes — they grin-bare-teeth; the yamadūtas take them bound. They shake hand, tooth, ear, neck — show people to be honored. How many shames have these become — there is no truth behind — only load-bearing. The verse permits the diagnostic of-fake-display-as-mercenary-monkey-dance.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's mercenary-monkey parable against fake-display
- Jhāḍā-time-grin-teeth canonical image
- No-nīti, only-bhāravāhī — empty-substance
- Pairs with 3061, 3057